The Iron Warrior

by Julie Kagawa

  I stepped forward to join them, but a swirl of light and glitter erupted between us, making me flinch back. I squinted up as the tall, elegant form of the Exile Queen walked out of the light, copper hair flowing behind her.

  “Hello, darlings.”

  I gaped at the tall faery. “Leanansidhe? What are you doing? How did you even get here?”

  “Darling, please.” The Exile Queen waved an airy hand. “It’s the Between. This is still my realm, even if a few interlopers have moved in.” She glared at the Forgotten, blue eyes scary and cold. “It appears that I’m going to have to kick them out myself.”

  “Aw, Lea, you mean you didn’t come here to see us?” Puck asked, twirling his daggers as he sauntered forward. “I’m hurt. But, hey, if you’re here to help us toss some shadows over the side of the bridge, I’m not complaining.”

  “Ethan.” Ash didn’t turn around as he spoke, but raised his arm. Glamour swirled, and ice daggers formed in the air over his head. “This is the best we can do for you,” the faery continued. “Find Keirran. Nothing else matters now. Find him, and bring him home.”

  The Forgotten drew close. Ash flung out his arm, and the flurry of ice daggers sped through the air into the horde coming across the bridge. Several jerked and writhed, twisting away into nothing, coils of shadow vanishing on the wind. Leanansidhe raised her arms, light and energy crackling around her, and sang out a single piercing note. My ears rang, and I gritted my teeth at the sudden pain in my skull, seeing Kenzie wince and cover her ears. In front of Leanansidhe, the entire first row of Forgotten jerked, hands flying up to cover the sides of their heads, before their skulls exploded into black clouds and dissolved into nothingness.

  I cringed as Wolf let out an eager, booming howl that vibrated the stones of the bridge and sprang forward into the recoiling mass of Forgotten. Puck hooted, daggers flashing, as he leaped forward, as well. Ash spared me one last piercing glare.

  “Ethan, go!”

  I whispered a curse and ran, hearing Ash, Puck and Wolf clash with the army of Forgotten, their howls and bursts of glamour ringing out behind us. A few Forgotten crawled up the sides of the bridge and leaped at me, but I cut them down and kept going.

  My eyes stung, and I angrily blinked tears away as we retreated across the bridge. I would not think of Ash, Puck and Wolf as a sacrifice. They would not be a sacrifice, dammit. If anyone could survive an army of Forgotten, it would be those three. And they had Leanansidhe backing them up. I had to trust them. They were buying us time, keeping the Forgotten off our backs so we could deal with Keirran in peace. I would not let them down.

  We reached the castle steps and climbed to the large wooden doors at the top. As we reached them, I wondered, fleetingly, if they would be locked or barred from the inside. We’d kinda be screwed if they were. But the handle turned under my palm when I wrenched on it, and the heavy doors slowly creaked open when I pushed. Peering through the crack, I saw an empty, open courtyard, as bleak and flat as everything else. Overhead, a strangely dull full moon hung from the sky, looking more like a portrait that anything real. Weird statues lined the perimeter wall—statues of faeries I’d never seen before. The Forgotten, perhaps? Before they’d changed into creepy shadow creatures? I didn’t know. But the space appeared to be empty; no movement, no yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness, no Forgotten moving through the shadows. I shoved the door open farther and let Kenzie and Annwyl slip through before I followed with the Thin Man, making sure the courtyard really was empty. Turning, I put a shoulder to the wood and pushed it shut, and the hollow boom of the door closing echoed through the castle.

  All right. Here we were, in the First Queen’s foyer. I wondered if she knew we were here, before deciding that of course she did; this was her kingdom, after all. So if the Lady already knew we were here, that meant Keirran probably did, too.

  So, where was he?

  “Stay close,” I warned the others. Kenzie was gazing around curiously, Razor perched on her shoulder, while Annwyl scanned the yard as if searching for the prince in the shadows. A cold wind billowed across the flagstones as I edged farther inside, and I saw that a section of the high stone wall that surrounded the courtyard had crumbled away. Beyond the gap was darkness, open air and a long, long drop to the bottom of the mountain. I shivered and took a cautious step back. “Be careful,” I warned, making sure Kenzie was a safe distance away from the broken wall and lethal plunge. “Keirran and the Lady could be anywhere. We don’t want them surprising us.”

  “That won’t be a problem, Uncle.”

  I jerked. A bright, cloaked form stood on a balcony against the opposite wall, gazing down at us. Even with his black cloak and armor, he shone in the darkness, silver hair and ice-blue eyes a stark contrast to the dreary surroundings.

  As soon as we saw him, Keirran waved a hand, and a heavy wooden portcullis dropped over the door we’d just come through, hitting the stones with a boom. Another fell over the archway at the other end of the yard, boxing us in. I drew my swords as my heart began a rapid thud in my chest. This was it. It was just us and Keirran now.

  The prince leaped over the balcony railing and dropped through the air to land gracefully on the flagstones. His eyes were already glowing as he rose, wind and glamour beginning to swirl around him, whipping at his hair. His smile was cruel as he stepped forward.

  “And here you are.” Keirran’s voice was flat, his eyes cutting. “Just as the queen said you would be. You are quite predictable, aren’t you, Ethan?” His gaze flicked from me to the girls, pressed to either side of me, and narrowed. “You shouldn’t have brought Annwyl and Kenzie, though. I have no wish to hurt them. This is between you and me. And you...”

  He gestured sharply. A blast of wind shrieked through the courtyard, tossing dust and leaves and making Kenzie’s and Annwyl’s clothes snap, though it wasn’t directed at us. But there was a cry, and the Thin Man suddenly slammed into a statue, his body winking into existence before collapsing motionless to the stones. Keirran gestured again, and the statue lurched and tumbled forward, crashing to the stones and pinning the Thin Man beneath it. The prince smiled coldly.

  “Fool me once,” he murmured, and raised his arm again.

  “Keirran, stop!” Annwyl stepped around me, her eyes tearful as she faced down the prince. “Please,” she begged, holding out her hands. “If you ever loved me, please, stop this. It’s not too late. You can leave this place, leave the Lady and return home.”

  Keirran looked at her, his eyes softening. “Annwyl,” he said, and for a moment, his voice was almost like the Keirran I used to know. “How can you ask me that?” he whispered. “Everything I’ve done, everything I’ve sacrificed, was for you. The Lady, the exiles, the Forgotten—they were all dying, but what I cared about most was saving you.”

  “I didn’t want to be saved,” Annwyl returned. “Not when it turned you into this. Not when it cost me everything I loved about you.” Her voice grew harsher, almost desperate. “I don’t want this, Keirran,” she said. “I want the old you back, even if I can see him for only a moment. Even if I must die for you to return.”

  Reaching around her neck, she yanked off the amulet, holding it up so that it swayed and throbbed in the eerie un-light. Keirran went rigid at the sight of it. “This is the cause of everything,” she said. “Prolonging my life, at the cost of your soul. It is an evil thing, Keirran, can’t you feel that? I want no part of it anymore.” She thrust the amulet at him, making it swing and glitter on its cord. “You have to destroy it. I can’t do it myself.”

  “No.”

  “Keirran—”

  “I won’t watch you die, Annwyl!” For just a moment, a spark of anger and grief crossed his face. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes. “This is my legacy,” he whispered. “Death, and betrayal, and destruction. This is destiny, what fate has decided. You are the only good thing I w
ill leave behind. If I...kill you, as well—” he made a weary, hopeless gesture “—if you die, this will all be for nothing. Everyone I’ve betrayed, all the death I’ve caused, will be for nothing.” He raked a hand through his silver bangs, his eyes shadowed. “What do I care if the Forgotten and exiles are saved,” he whispered, “if you’re not in the world any longer?”

  Kenzie’s voice was sympathetic. “You still love her.”

  “I never stopped,” Keirran growled, giving her a cold look. “Maybe it’s foolish. Maybe that’s the only piece of my soul I still have left. But it doesn’t matter. The First Queen’s plan is nearly complete. It’s too late for me to stop it.”

  “It’s not too late for you, Prince,” I snapped. “You can still end this. Walk out with us, and go home. Do you really want to keep fighting everyone? Your parents, the courts, the entire Nevernever?” I gestured back toward the front gate. “Ash is out there, right now, holding off the Forgotten. If he makes it up here, what are you going to do? Fight your own dad? Are you going to kill your whole family before this is over?”

  For just a second, he hesitated. For a heartbeat, I thought we’d gotten through. But then his eyes clouded over, and his face became hard.

  “No,” he said, his voice resolved. “I can’t stop now. Not when we’re this close. I’ve chosen my path, and I won’t falter. The prophecy has decided my fate, and I am what they call me—the Destroyer. The Soulless One. So be it.” His eyes went icy, that cold apathy settling on him like a mantle. “I will be their villain,” he murmured, raising his head, “but I will also change the world with the First Queen. And nothing will stand in our way.”

  “Keirran, please,” Annwyl whispered. “The realm is being torn apart. This war will obliterate everything. Please, you have to destroy the amulet. Just let me go.”

  The Iron Prince looked at her blankly, all traces of the old Keirran disappearing as the icy stranger took his place. “Do I?” he mused, cocking his head. “Maybe I will. Maybe I will destroy it after all. But not until the Veil has fallen. Even now, the Lady works to weaken it.” He glanced at me. “There is only one thing missing, one thing that she needs for it to shatter and never re-form again.”

  “You tried that once,” I growled at him. “It didn’t work. What makes you think this time will be any different?”

  He gave me a chilling smile and gestured to the courtyard. “Look around you,” Keirran said. “Do you know where you are? Does any of this seem familiar?”

  “Not even a little bit.”

  “We saw it once, in passing,” Keirran insisted. “Don’t you remember? The first time I took you through the Between. It was just a ruin then, but I made note of where it was. A site of great power. A place that exists in both worlds.”

  As usual, Kenzie got it before I did. “This is an anchor,” she guessed, and the prince nodded.

  “Just a ruin,” he said. “A few stones. But it was enough. Enough for the Lady to build this kingdom and create a safe haven for the Forgotten. Not that it will be needed much longer.”

  He turned to me, a smile playing across his lips. “We had it wrong before,” he almost whispered. “We know now why the Veil re-formed. The sacrifice must be done at the site of both worlds, not just the mortal realm.” His smile grew wider, more evil. “So, I guess it’s fortunate you didn’t die in Ireland after all.”

  Horror flooded me, and Kenzie gasped with the realization. Keirran drew his sword, the raspy screech echoing over the walls. I backed away, shoving the girls behind me, and raised my own weapon. The Iron Prince stepped forward, the air around him turning frigid. “Well, now that you’re here, you can fulfill the true prophecy, Ethan Chase. You can die, again, and your blood will be the final force that will shatter the Veil for good.” He raised his sword, icy glamour beginning to swirl around him. “And this time, there will be no coming back.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  BLOOD AND SACRIFICE

  He didn’t bother with magic this time. No lightning, ice darts, blast of wind, nothing. He just lunged at me, the curved steel blade slicing down at my neck. I leaped back, barely getting my sword up in time, and the screech of metal on metal rocked me and sent a chill racing up my spine.

  Kenzie and Annwyl darted back. “Keirran, stop!” Annwyl cried, raising her arm. Glamour swirled around her, but the Iron Prince turned, flinging out a hand toward her. A vicious gust of wind sent her tumbling off her feet and sprawling against the stones with a gasp. Keirran smiled grimly.

  “You might be immune to glamour now, but I’m afraid your friends are not,” he said, and gestured again, sending Kenzie stumbling back. “And I would like to keep the interference at a minimum this time, so...”

  I started toward Kenzie, ignoring the prince, but the shadows around us suddenly came alive. Forgotten emerged from the darkness, yellow eyes gleaming, and slithered toward the girls. Two pounced on Annwyl, dragging her upright by the arms, and another pair seized Kenzie. Razor shrieked and lunged at one with fangs bared but was slapped away and hit a statue with a tiny but sickening crack. He dropped to the stones, moaning and holding his arm, and the Forgotten pulled Kenzie against the wall, ignoring her cries of protest.

  Furious, I went for the Forgotten holding Kenzie, but a line of glittering ice spears rose from the ground between us.

  “The fight is here, Ethan,” Keirran called in a mocking voice. “Unless you’re afraid to fight me one-on-one. No Titania to save you this time.” I whirled on him, snarling, and he smiled. “No interruptions now. Just you and me.”

  “Fine,” I growled, brandishing my sword. Anger, fury and hate boiled up as I faced my nephew across the flagstones. This was it. The final battle between me and the Iron Prince, and I was ready. No more holding back or trying to talk him down. This had been coming since the day we met. “Come on, then, Prince,” I said, curling my lip into a sneer. “If this is the only way to stop the war and save the Nevernever, then I’ll just have to kick your ass all the way back to your precious Lady.”

  He grinned and lunged at me. I met him in the center of the courtyard, the clang of our weapons ringing off the stones. We swung and parried with our blades, barely missing each other, the razor edges coming uncomfortably close. Keirran had only one sword to my two, but his speed and unnatural grace made up for it. Plus he had been trained by Ash, one of the best swordsmen in the Nevernever. I knew it was only a matter of time before the blood started to fly and fleetingly wondered who would draw it first.

  I had my answer about five seconds later. Keirran dodged a vicious swat to his head, darted in and stabbed me in the arm with the point of his blade. The cut wasn’t very deep, but pain flared across my forearm as blood welled and dripped to the flagstones.

  A shiver went through the air as I grimaced and staggered back, and the entire world rippled like the surface of a pond. Kenzie gasped, and Keirran lowered his blade, smiling.

  “Do you feel that?” he whispered, gazing up at the sky. “It’s happening. The Veil is unraveling. Every drop of your blood weakens it a little more. And when you die, it will finally fall. Humans will finally be able to see us, fear us, believe in us again.”

  “Are those really your ideals, Keirran?” Kenzie demanded from the wall, still struggling with her captors. “Or is that the First Queen talking?” When he didn’t answer, she pressed on. “I thought so. I don’t think you even know what you want, just that you have to follow this path because of some stupid prophecy. Well, that’s bullshit! There is always a choice, Keirran!”

  “Silence,” Keirran growled, gesturing at her, and one of the Forgotten covered her mouth with a hand. “Both of you,” he added, and the Forgotten holding Annwyl did the same. “Your constant protests are becoming tiresome, and I’ve already made my choice. If you don’t mind, I would like to kill my uncle in peace.”

  I lunged at Keirran wit
h a snarl, fury and desperation hot in my veins, and Keirran stepped forward, his eyes murderous. Our swords clanged and screeched in the grim silence, echoing off the walls. We fought viciously, both giving no mercy or quarter. I lashed out and scored a nasty cut across his cheek. He responded with a stinging gash below my ribs. More blood spread across my shirt, warm and sticky, and the world wavered with every drop that hit the ground.

  Lunging in, I smacked Keirran’s sword away and stabbed deep, hitting him in the shoulder right below his collarbone. Grimacing, Keirran stumbled back, throwing out a hand, and a flurry of ice daggers came at me and veered away. I smiled grimly.

  “Still immune to magic, Prince. Or did you forget?”

  He glared stonily, holding a hand to the wound. “No,” he said. “But that’s a very annoying talent you’ve picked up.”

  Sneering, I raised my sword. “Aw, what’s the matter, Prince? Can’t face me in a fair fight? Sad that you actually have to get your hands dirty?”

  His glare grew colder. “Don’t push me, Ethan,” he warned in an icy voice. “I can kill you anytime I want. I thought, for family’s sake, I would do it the honorable way. But if you insist, I can be the heartless demon you think I am.”

  “Really?” I stepped forward. “Then give it your best shot, Keirran.”

  “As you wish.”

  He raised his arm, and ice spears formed in the air, pointed and lethal. “Just remember, you pushed me to this,” Keirran said, and swept his hand down...

  ...at Kenzie.

  My heart lodged in my throat. I watched, helpless, as the Forgotten holding Kenzie vanished into the wall, a moment before the flurry of ice spears slammed into them. The spears shattered against the rock with the sound of breaking glass, and Kenzie screamed, hands flying up to cover her face, as the razor shards of ice tore at her skin and shredded her clothes.